


Kiss Me Again

by Loor



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Graham Norton Show - Freeform, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-30
Updated: 2013-12-30
Packaged: 2018-01-06 18:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1110074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loor/pseuds/Loor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A tiny Christmas present for Emmah. I know you asked for a Harry Styles under your christmas tree, but this was the best I could do ;). Happy holidays, darling!</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A tiny Christmas present for Emmah. I know you asked for a Harry Styles under your christmas tree, but this was the best I could do ;). Happy holidays, darling!

“Tonights Christmas show is going to be a special treat for all you girls out there. We have a battle of the boybands! Or well, the boy and the band. We have Ed Sheeran here tonight! And we have the boys of One Direction coming over! Yes, that’s right, scream your teenage hearts out! Now, let’s start the show!”

Emmah cheered along with the rest of the crowd as Graham ran to the platform for his weekly introduction of the show. It still felt surreal to be here, in London, front row at a taping of the Graham Norton Show. Waiting for her friends to huddle together in that famous red sofa.

“Whooo! Go Hazza!” she yelled when the boys finally entered the stage. In between all the cheers and screams around her, she just caught the conversation of the two girls sitting next to her. “Did you hear that one?” the sitting next to her asked, subtly not so subtly nodding her head in Emmah’s direction. “Yeah, I did,” the other one answered, continuing with a role of her eyes, “She acts like she actually knows them.” 

Emmah didn’t react, just smiled behind her fist. If they only knew how right they were. But then again, Emmah could hardly believe it herself, the turn her life had taken in the past year. 

It had been a year since she’d first come to London. A Christmas gift from her friend Lauren, who knew Emmah didn’t want to spend another Christmas holiday putting up fake smiles and hugging family she really only saw once a year. So she had invited Emmah to spend December in London. Insisted they’d finally meet in real life, not just continue chatter away online like they had been doing for years. Christmas had suddenly looked a lot brighter and Emmah hadn’t hesitated one moment to accept the invitation. 

London in December was everything Emmah could have ever imagined it would be and more. The Christmas spirit brought to life. And spending time with Lauren, actual real life time, was amazing. Shopping under the Christmas lights of Oxford street, doing all the touristy spots, Lauren showing her locations made famous by Harry Potter. Emmah couldn’t have asked for a better holiday. And things only got better when Lauren insisted Emmah had to meet her boyfriend. 

As it turned out, Emmah thought she knew all of Lauren’s secrets, but there was one little detail Lauren had forgotten to mention. Emmah had known Lauren was dating someone, but she never could have guessed that someone was none other than Tom Hiddleston, famous actor and all around British perfection, as Lauren liked to call him. And she never could have predicted that getting to know Tom would lead to meeting Benedict Cumberbatch, who happened to be close with Matt Smith, who was friends with Ed Sheeran, who was tight with the guys from One Direction. One thing had lead to another and before she knew what happened, Emmah had found herself backstage at one of the One Direction shows at the O2 arena, chatting away with the guys as if they had known each other for years. 

Emmah had a great time in London and had spend as much time with the band as she could. When she had gone back home to Maine, however, contact with the boys had become very sporadic. She hadn’t blamed them for it, she knew how busy they were. She had been more than happy with the occasional text from Zayn or the funny cat emails Naill claimed made him think of her. And then there was of course the one boy hadn’t failed at all to make good on his promise to stay in touch. Harry Styles. 

The one and only Harry Styles had made sure to keep that promise he made a year ago in the dreary London rain. To always keep in touch. A promised he definitely made good on. Whether it were text messages or emails or skype conversations, there hadn’t been a day that she didn’t hear from Harry. He had kept her up to date about the guys, send her teasers about the new album and pictures of all the beautiful places they toured. And a lot of nights they had just talked about everything and nothing, stayed up way too late or on rare occasions just fallen asleep on each other with Skype still on. 

Emmah had always like Harry a lot, even more than the other four. And all their talks and laughs had just increased that feeling. She felt good around him and she had never felt so close to someone, even though they were thousands of miles away most of the time. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that when Harry had told her during one of their Skype sessions that he would be flying her to London to spend Christmas with him and his family she had jumped up and down and tried to hug him through the screen before confirming that yes, of course she would love that.

“You talk like you are an expert on the case!”

It was Ed Sheeran’s shout that roughly brought Emmah back to reality. London, the BBC studios and the taping of the Graham Norton Christmas special. She focused on the stage again and noticed that Ed and Harry were engaged in some boyish banter. ‘Typical,’ she thought as she watched the boys. 

For a long moment she watched the boys bickering back and forth. And then she noticed the host of the show. Harry and Ed were certainly entertaining the audience, but they seemed to have forgotten that this was the Graham Norton show they were at. Graham Norton, who thrived on opportunities like the one they were giving him. Emmah noticed Liam pulling Harry’s arm in an effort to make him shut up, but it was already too late. Graham’s face was sparkling with mischief and there was a giant grin on his face when he cut in, “Well, apparently you know exactly what you are talking about, Harry. So why don’t you give us a little demonstration?”

That comment definitely shut Harry up effectively for a moment. Emmah giggled as he began to sputter, clearly trying to find a way out of the sort of mess he had created for himself. He clearly didn’t know what to say. And then, as his cheeks turned pink, his eyes suddenly swept over the audience. And stopped right as he was staring at Emmah. There was something in his eyes that caused her to blush scarlet. She wasn’t sure whether she was looking at doubt, at worry, at something she couldn’t quite describe. 

Eventually Harry turned to Graham again, there was a small smile playing around his lips. “Fine, anything to make you happy, Graham!” He waited before the host of the show was done laughing and then said, “But what did you have in mind, you want me to kiss a pillow?”

Graham threw his head back in laughter, but the next moment he was serious again. “Uhm… no!” he told Harry in that typical style of his. “I think you should prove your skills on a girl from our audience.”

Emmah’s mouth fell open in surprise. She knew Graham could have some crazy ideas at times, but she had not see that one coming. The crowd around her let out deafening screams and Graham laughed again. When the crowd had calmed down a bit, he further announced, “And since it was Ed you interrupted, I think he should pick the girl for you.”

The hosts words were enough to cause another roar from the crowd. Emmah did not cheer along though, she was focused on the boys too much. A smirk had appeared on Ed’s face and Louis and Naill were both doubled over in laughter. Harry, though, was blushing scarlet red again. “What have you gotten yourself into this time, Harry?” she muttered. Her words were just loud enough to cause angry looks from the girls besides her, but she didn’t really care. 

When the crowd had finally calmed down again, Graham looked at Ed again and gestured towards the audience. “Take your pick!” he told the young man. 

Ed scanned the crowd with a mischievous look in his eyes. Emmah could tell he was up to something, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She was still contemplating the look on his face when he started to get up. Just as he wanted to walk towards the audience, Zayn pulled his sleeve. Ed bend down to allow Zayn to whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was, it made Ed laugh out loud. Emmah saw him mouth “Of course!” to Zyan, before he finally walked off the stage towards the audience.

The sudden tension in the room was palpable, all girls shifting to the edge of their seats, getting their hopes up. But Ed didn’t hesitate one moment. He confidently marched forward, clearly had a girl in mind for Harry already. Much to Emmah’s surprise, he walked up to her. She felt her mouth fall open when Ed extended his hand towards her with a smirk on his face. The girls beside her weren’t able to keep their gasps to themselves either.

Ed patiently waited, his hand still outstretched, but Emmah wasn’t sure how to react. In the background Graham asked, “What is taking so long? Doesn’t she want to kiss him?” But Emmah barely heard his words. Instead, she looked past Ed, searched for Harry’s eyes. It wasn’t hard to get a hold of them, because he was staring straight at her from his seat on the red couch. But there was something in his eyes again. That one emotion from earlier that she still didn’t quite understand. It caused her to furrow her brows in confusion.

She didn’t get much time to think about it though, as she realized the crowd around her was starting to get rowdy. She could already hear whispers of “Just pick someone else!” go through the audience. So instead of keeping Ed waiting any longer, she took a deep breath, stood up from her seat and placed her hand in his. 

Noises came from the audience again. There were definitely some disappointed groans, but mostly Emmah heard clapping and cheering, with four boys on the couch cheering the loudest, while one other was nervously eyeing back and forth between Emmah and Graham. 

“Okay, get her up here,” Graham urged Ed. He was ready and waiting and firmly shook Emmah’s hand when she stepped onto the stage. “Hello, lovely lady, what is your name?”

“I’m Emmah,” she answered. She did her best to stay focused on Graham’s question, which wasn’t easy with not so quiet giggles constantly coming from the couch.

“Oh, what a lovely name! And where are you from, Emmah?” Graham wanted to know.

“I’m from the United States, from Maine.”

“Oh wow, you’ve made quite the trip then. But I guess it’s going to pay off, since you are going to get a kiss from Harry Styles!” Graham enthusiastically clapped his hands with every word he spoke, like a little boy on Christmas morning. He didn’t ask any further questions. Instead he waved Harry to get up from the couch and come closer.

Harry got up from the couch, ignoring the nudges in the ribs and pats on the back his friends gave him. “Okay, so how do we do this?” he wanted to know. Emmah couldn’t help but notice how he wasn’t able to meet her eyes.

Graham quickly moved around, making that Emmah was standing next to Harry. The next few moments were a bit of a chaos. “I’ll just hold my card here and you …” Graham said to Emmah’s right. On the left, she heard Harry exclaim, “Oh god. My mom’s watching this!” He sounded nervous and as Emmah turned towards him, he looked nervous as well, quickly brushing a hand through his hair. 

Clearly not wanting to lose his courage, Harry told Emmah, “Okay, you do my cheek and -”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Graham interrupted him with a “Oh, cheeks!” while rolling his eyes and waving around his cue cards.

“What, on the lips?”

Emmah wasn’t sure if she should feel insulted by the obvious question and surprise in Harry’s voice. But before she got the time to think about it, Graham was already urging Harry on again. “I’ll hold my cards here. No one would see, no one would see!”

The noise in the studio was making Emmah’s head spin. Graham was talking to her right, she could still hear giggles coming from the couch and the audience was clapping and stomping their feet and cheering. 

And then it felt as if everybody was gone. In the back of her mind Emmah knew she was still in the studio. But all the noise was gone. It wasn’t what was making her head spin anymore. That was caused by the feeling of Harry’s lips pressing against hers. Harry Styles was kissing her. And that was all she could register at the moment.

The next moment she felt Harry’s hands sneak around her waist to pull her closer and she realized her fingers were getting lost in his hair. Her body’s reaction told her she had been waiting for this moment ever since she met Harry and she almost cursed herself for not realizing sooner.

Just when she felt Harry’s tongue slip past his lips, tentatively licking her in a quiet request, she was pulled back to reality by Graham’s loud voice. “Okay, I think that’s enough. Let’s keep it PG here! You’ve proven your point!”


	2. Chapter 2

The show went on for another 20 minutes or so, but Emmah didn’t register much of what went on after she had been escorted back to her seat. It all went by in a blur of laughter and music and cheering girls. And secret not so secret looks to Harry, who not once dared to meet her gaze.

It was only a few hours after the show that Emmah seemed to come back to reality. By then, everybody had gathered at Louis’ house to for an early celebration of the boy’s birthday which would be in a few days. The entire house was filled with music, drinks and friends having a good time. Emmah was mostly happy that the house was big enough to avoid Harry without much trouble. He hadn’t said a word to her since their lips had locked and Emmah was too stubborn (and nervous) to try and change that herself. 

She had decided to get away from the party for a little while and found herself outside on the terrace, leaning on the railing and gazing at the stars. It was chilly outside and she knew she wouldn’t last long out there, but for now it was a welcome change from the hot interior of the house.

“So, Tom told me that Matt heard from Zayn that you kissed Harry.”

Emmah wasn’t sure whether she should smile or let out a groan of annoyance when Lauren was suddenly leaning on the railing next to her. She rather wanted to be alone for a while, but she should have known that it wasn’t as easy to avoid Lauren as it was to stay away from Harry. She opted for neither, wanting to know, “What, are we still in primary school?”

It was a lame, obvious attempt at sidetracking Lauren. As soon as the words had left Emmah’s mouth, she knew it wouldn’t work. Indeed, her friend said nothing, just gave a look that made it clear she wasn’t having any of it. Lauren wanted to talk about this and she wanted to do it now. 

“He kissed me,” Emmah corrected Lauren after a few more moments of silence. 

“Same difference.”

“He kissed me,” Emmah repeated her previous statement. She further explained, “And he hasn’t said a word to me since.”

“And let me guess, you’re too stubborn to talk to him as well?” Lauren asked calmly, before taking a sip of the glass of white wine she was holding.

“I don’t think I should be responsible for clearing the air!” Emmah exclaimed. She tried to sound as calm as Lauren, but the whole Harry situation had her on the tips of her toes. The words came out more in a huff that she had wanted them to.

When Lauren finally turned to look at her, there was a slight look of disbelief on her face. She looked like she did understand Emmah’s side, but at the same time couldn’t believe she was saying that. “Oh come on, you know Harry!” she eventually said. Emmah was surprised at how calm she still sounded, despite the look on her face. “He’s all big words and grand gestures, but when it comes down to it, he’s still just a shy nineteen year old boy. He’s just nervous, that’s all.”

Emmah’s brows furrowed in confusion. “Why would he be nervous?” Again, Lauren said nothing. There was a small smile playing around her lips and she looked as if she was waiting for something. It was then that realization hit Emmah. “Oh.” she said. And then, speaking to Lauren again, “Do you really think so?”

“I know so!” Lauren assured her, now full out smirking. She opened her mouth to say something more, but before she could get another word out, a voice coming from the terrace doors interrupted her. 

“And what is it you know, Lauren?” none other than Harry Styles himself wanted to know.

Emmah felt herself blush, instantly wondering how much of their conversation he had heard. At the same time, she couldn’t help but be impressed by Lauren’s reaction. The girl didn’t even flinch, simply turned around and called out to Harry, “That’s for me to know and for you to find out, Styles!”

Emmah could see that Lauren clearly had picked up a few of her boyfriend’s acting skills. With a smirk across her face, she lifted herself from the railing, announcing that it’s time for her to get back inside and see what Tom is up to. She walked to Harry, who was still standing in the door, and ruffled his hair in passing. With a loud laugh, she easily ducked out of the way as Harry tried to reciprocate and quickly made her way inside. 

Emmah watched the interaction with a smile, thinking that they were much like siblings. The smile slid of her face when she saw Harry started to come closer to her. She quickly turned around again, away from the door, her face towards the stars.

Harry didn’t seem bothered by her movements. She could feel him coming closer. Yet it still surprised her when she suddenly felt a coat, his coat, being put over her shoulders. In all her flurry about him suddenly showing up, she hadn’t even seen he had been holding it. “Thank you,” she told him gratefully. It was only when the coat had slid over her shoulders that she had realized how cold she had actually been. 

“No problem,” Harry responded quietly. Emmah expected him to finally address what happened earlier that night, but he didn’t even make an attempt to mention it. He just stood next to her, their shoulders almost touching, and quietly sipped his drink. The atmosphere could have been romantic, but mostly it annoyed Emmah. 

Eventually she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to break the silence, she had to know. “Harry, about earlier,” she said. At the same time, Harry finally seemed to be ready to speak up as well, and said, “So, about the show.”

Their eyes finally met and they smiled at each other. Another short silence fell over them. Emmah was the first one to speak up again, telling the boy next to her, “You go first, Harry.”

It was silent for a while again, but one look at Harry told Emmah that it wasn’t because he didn’t want to talk. It was because he was looking for the right words to say. Eventually he went with, “There was hope in my eyes.”

The words that came out of Harry’s mouth were not what Emmah had expected at all. She had no idea how that sentence fitted in their conversation. “What?” she voiced the confusion in her head.

Harry shot a small smile at her and explained, “At the show earlier. We locked eyes right before I agreed to go along with whatever Graham had in mind. And then again when Ed came to get you from the audience. I saw the look on your face, Emmah. And I knew you couldn’t tell what that emotion was that I felt and you saw flickering in my eyes. So I’ll tell you know: it was hope.”

His words made sense to Emmah, she understood what he was saying. And at the same time she didn’t understand a thing, she had no idea what he was getting at. There were some ideas swirling around in her head, but ironically, she didn’t dare to get her hopes up. So instead she questioned, “Hope? What am I supposed to make of that, Harry?”

Harry sighed and he visibly slumped. Clearly Emmah wasn’t giving him the answer he was expecting. He stared at her for a moment, wondering if there was anything else she wanted to say. There wasn’t. She was clearly waiting as well, to look if he had something to add. 

Harry knew it was now or never. He had feelings for Emmah. More than just friendship. And if he didn’t tell her now, she would soon get back onto the plane and fly back to the other side of the world clueless. He didn’t want that. So there was only one thing to do. He took a deep breath and started talking as if his life depended on it. And in a way, it did.

“I’ve gotta say something I’ve been thinking about. It’s been on my mind for a long time now and I want you to know before you get back on a plane to the other side of the world. It’s… I don’t know how to exactly tell this. It’s like my heart beats at a mile a minute when I’m with you. It’s been a while since I felt butterflies, but you make them fly again. And I gotta say, I was scared and nervous when you walked onto that stage tonight. Furious at Ed and the boys, and like I said, a tiny bit hopeful, but mostly nervous. Because I wasn’t expecting you to come and just fall into my arms. And I shouldn’t have waited so long to talk to you. But know I can’t deny this feeling any longer. I like you, Emmah. A lot. As more than just a friend. And well… Now you know. And I hope I didn’t ruin our friendship by telling you.”

By the time he was finished, Harry wasn’t looking at Emmah anymore. Instead he was following Emmah’s example from earlier, gazing up at the stars above them. It surprised him how well visible they were, despite the fact that they were only just outside London. ‘Probably would have even been prettier if the moon hadn’t been shining so bright’, he mused to himself.

Harry’s attention got torn away from the starry sky when he suddenly felt a hand cover his own. Emmah softly pinched him, but Harry wasn’t sure if it was in reassurance or to console him about unrequited feelings. He dared not to look at her to search for the answer. 

When Emmah spoke, Harry’s heart skipped a beat. This was it. “You’re more than a friend, Haz,” Emmah told him. Harry realized a breathe he didn’t know he was holding as he listened to her. “I knew that from the first sight. I was a fan of the band long before I met you, but when I walked into that room backstage at the O2 last December, I only had eyes for one boy.”

“Louis?” The word had left Harry’s mouth before he could help himself. He wasn’t sure if he was trying to be funny or whether he was still insecure. 

Either way, it earned him a playful slap from Emmah. “Shut up, you idiot!” she told him with a smile. Her face grew serious again when she continued. “You, Harry Styles, I only had eyes for you. And you were the one I longed for to just hold me during all our Skype conversation, to put your arms around me so you could feel my heart beat and maybe understand. Understand that I see you as so much more than a friend. I like you as so much more than a friend. Now, please kiss me again.”

By the time Emmah had finished her little monologue, Harry was smiling so brightly it almost hurt. And he didn’t need to be told twice. “Gladly!” he assured Emmah before pulling her close. 

Harry’s coat slipped from her shoulders as soon as he pulled her close, but Emmah didn’t notice. She wasn’t cold anymore. Not with Harry’s arms around her and his lips taking their sweet time to map out hers.


	3. Chapter 3

About an hour after she walked back in, Lauren got distracted from her conversation with Gemma when in her peripheral vision the door to the terrace opened. Holding up her hand to stop Gemma mid sentence she turned her head just in time to see Emmah and Harry walk in. Together, but not together, it seemed. She sighed, feeling a little disappointed.

“I feel they should just hook up,” Lauren heard Gemma say besides her. “I don’t get how they don’t see it themselves.”

“Oh, totally there with you!” Lauren agreed without averting her gaze from her two friends that had just walked in.

They were talking to Louis now. Lauren could see Emmah gesture to her head, explaining something with a painful expression. Harry was standing close behind her, yet they weren’t completely touching. Emmah then proceeded to give Louis a hug. While Harry was doing the same, she turned to the sitting area. When her gaze met Lauren’s, she mouthed, “Migraine,” gesturing to her head in the same way she had done before. Lauren simply rolled her eyes to show she wasn’t believing the excuse one moment, but she didn’t want to yell across the room either. She simply waved back as both Harry and Emmah waved goodbye and watched them walk out.

Not even fifteen minutes after the pair left, Lauren could be found in the kitchen. She was trying to pour herself a drink, a task that was a lot harder then it sounded, especially with Tom gripping her hips and sucking on the exposed skin of her neck. Just as she thought that maybe they too should call it a night, maybe have a little private party of their own, a voice called from behind them, “Get a room!” 

Tom gave him the finger and his lips did not leave Lauren’s skin, who managed to turn them around and stick out her tongue at Naill. The boy wasn’t particularly bothered by the couple, simply walking into the kitchen with a smile on his face. “I thought you would like to see this,” he told Lauren, who realized he had been holding his phone and was now showing it to her. 

Lauren managed to get herself free from Tom for a moment and stepped closer to look at whatever Naill was trying to show her. A smile crossed her face.

“You owe me 50 pounds, Horan,” Tom announced, making Lauren realize he was looking at the phone too. Naill laughed as he pocketed his phone again, admitting his defeat with a nod. 

Their conversation went over Lauren’s head. For a moment she could only think about how happy she was for Emmah. She could only see the photo the girl had posted on Instagram minutes earlier. Two very familiar hands linked together, the caption reading ‘Kiss me again, underneath the moonlight.’


End file.
